“And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’”
— Luke 7:19
Through the Bible: Matthew 9, Luke 7
In Luke 7, John the Baptist sends two of his disciples to Jesus to ask Him if He really is the Messiah, or if they should keep looking. This is the same John the Baptist who, while still in the womb, leaped for joy at the coming of Mary to visit Elizabeth (see Luke 1:44). John the Baptist had seen the heavens open. He had heard the Father’s voice. He had watched the Spirit descend on Jesus like a dove.
So it’s a bit unsettling to have this giant of faith, imprisoned and facing execution, begin to wonder: Was I wrong?
I suppose we can take comfort in the idea that even a warrior can waver. Still, it’s helpful to understand what was behind John’s apparent lapse of faith.
John’s Expectations: Fire and Judgment
John’s preaching in Luke 3 gives us a window to what his expectations of the Messiah would be. His message crackles with fire and brimstone:
- You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (v. 7).
- Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (v. 9)
- He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (v 16–17).
So imagine his confusion when reports reached him in prison: Jesus was not purging Israel but healing her; not calling down wrath but offering forgiveness; not confronting Rome but comforting the broken. John’s question wasn’t born of rebellion but of confusion. To borrow from the iconic Star Wars line– this wasn’t the Messiah he was looking for.
Sidebar: A Note on John and the Qumran Community
Many scholars speculate that John the Baptist was part of the Essene community, the monastic sect that preserved the Dead Sea Scrolls. While we can’t say with certainty that John was part of the Essene community at Qumran, the similarities are striking. Both lived in the Judean wilderness near the Dead Sea. Both emphasized repentance, purity, and preparation for the coming of the Lord. Both drew their mission from Isaiah 40:3—“A voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord.”
The Essenes saw themselves as the “sons of light,” awaiting a cosmic war against the “sons of darkness.” The Dead Sea Scroll known as The War Scroll paints that battle in vivid, apocalyptic color.
At Jerusalem’s Shrine of the Book, where the scrolls are displayed, there’s a powerful visual echo of that worldview: a gleaming white dome facing a wall of black basalt—light and darkness staring each other down. If John was raised within or near that community, it’s easy to see why Jesus’ ministry of mercy might have disoriented him. John expected the fiery dawn of judgment; instead, he heard reports of gentle hands touching lepers and welcoming sinners.
Following the Breadcrumbs
Jesus never directly answered the question John’s disciples ask. But He was confident John knew the Scriptures, so He layered His response with allusions to the Old Testament. “The blind receive their sight” is a promise from Isaiah 29:18. “The lame walk” comes from Isaiah 35:6. “The deaf hear” fulfills Isaiah 35:5. He also talks about the dead being raised and lepers being cleansed.
But here is the amazing clue for John, hidden in plain sight: There is no Old Testament account of of anyone restoring sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, or strength to the lame. Not Moses. Not Elijah. Not Elisha. No one.
Isaiah prophesied about what will happen one day. But Jesus tells John’s disciples to report on what has been happening in the present. For the first time ever, blind people are seeing. Deaf people are hearing. Paralytics are walking. These were not just acts of compassion; they were signals of new creation.
Isaiah said, “Then shall…” Jesus says, “Look now.”
What Jesus Left Out
John would have learned as much from what Jesus didn’t say as what He did. Look closely at Jesus’ response:
Go and tell John what you have seen and heard:
the blind receive their sight, the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear,
the dead are raised up,
the poor have good news preached to them. (Luke 7:22)
Those words weave together promises from Isaiah 35:5–6 and Isaiah 61:1–2—passages that describe the dawn of God’s kingdom. But notice what Jesus leaves out. In Isaiah 61, the Messiah also proclaims “freedom for the captives.”
John would have heard the omission. Jesus was saying, in effect, “Yes, I am the One—but I’m not coming to set this captive free.”
The kingdom John announced had come, but not in the way he expected. Jesus’ first victory would be over sin, not over Caesar; His first liberation, of hearts, not of prisoners.
In other words, Jesus wasn’t merely healing bodies—He was announcing that the age of the Messiah had begun. What John expected as fire from heaven arrived first as light in the darkness. The conflagration would come later; for now, the candle had been lit.
Deep Faith, Disorienting Circumstances
After John’s messengers left, Jesus turned to the crowd and said, “Among those born of women there is no one greater than John.”
That’s grace. Jesus didn’t diminish John’s faith; He dignified it.
Sometimes faith means standing on the riverbank and proclaiming, “Behold the Lamb of God.” Other times, faith means sitting in the dark and whispering, “Lord, I still believe You’re the One.”
John’s faith didn’t fail in the darkness; it just needed light he couldn’t yet see. And that’s true for us, too—the same Jesus who answered John’s doubts still meets ours, not with fire and fury, but with grace and truth.
When life doesn’t unfold the way you thought it would, you’re in good company. Even the greatest prophet wrestled with unmet expectations. But the same Jesus who answered John’s doubts will answer yours—with evidence of mercy, with reminders of His faithfulness, and with the quiet assurance that His kingdom has already begun.
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